Men in black: Sleek Aggies bury Bulldogs early

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Several hours prior to Texas A&M’s 38-13 whitewashing of Mississippi State in its all-white uniforms, Aggies running back Ben Malena strolled through a door of Davis Wade Stadium and stopped short at the sight inside.

“I thought we had walked into another team’s locker room,” Malena said.

Sleek black uniforms were laid out for the players in a program sporting maroon since the 1920s.

“There was screaming and yelling like we had just won a game,” Aggies defensive end Damontre Moore said of the wardrobe surprise.

No. 15 Mississippi State (7-2, 3-2) had played up its wearing of all white, in tribute to the “Snow Bowl” – a Bulldogs overtime victory against the Aggies in the 2000 Independence Bowl. So No. 16 A&M (7-2, 4-2) chose to have a little fun of its own, and the result was a clash in black and white between two teams typically donning maroon.

“They created an energy I hadn’t seen from this team in a while,” A&M center Pat Lewis said of the Adidas outfits that included black helmets with an outline of the state of Texas.

In black, maroon or white, the Aggies’ energy to start games has been exceptional under first-year coach Kevin Sumlin. A&M blasted to a 24-0 first-half lead, including scoring a touchdown on its first possession for the sixth straight game.

“To be successful on the road and to start the way we have the last couple of weeks, the confidence level has to be high,” Sumlin said. “It’s a tribute to the seniors who’ve really pushed this team.”

A week earlier, A&M roared to a 21-0 first quarter lead at Auburn in a 63-21 victory. The Aggies have won their first two contests of a three-game SEC road swing by a combined 67 points. Top-ranked Alabama is up next on Saturday in the Aggies’ first visit to Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“The more you win, the bigger the games get,” Sumlin said. “Consistency in preparation is the key for us, and we’ll approach this week just like we’ve done every other week.”

A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel continued making his case as a Heisman Trophy candidate with 440 total yards, 130 more than the entire Mississippi State squad thanks to another strong effort by the Aggies’ defense. Manziel, a former Kerrville Tivy star, rushed for a game-high 129 yards and completed 30 of 36 passes for 311 yards.

The Aggies piled up 693 yards of offense, their school record eighth straight game with at least 400 yards. The Bulldogs were coming off a 38-7 setback at Alabama.

“This was very different from last week,” MSU cornerback Johnthan Banks said. “A very different offense, a very different pace, a very different style. Manziel – he’s a ball player.”

Despite the high passing numbers A&M’s five touchdowns came on the ground, including a pair of 37 and 8 yard sprints by Manziel, a pair of 22 and 1-yard scores by Christine Michael, and a 1-yard leap by Malena. On Manziel’s highlight-reel scramble up the middle for 37 yards in the second quarter, A&M offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury slapped Sumlin’s hindquarters in celebration.

Such blissful outbursts have become the norm on the A&M sideline, for a program 7-6 last year and expected to take its lumps in its first season in the rugged SEC. The Aggies are 5-0 away from Kyle Field this season, and the Bulldogs were the highest ranked foe A&M has defeated on the road since 2006, a 12-7 victory over No. 11 Texas in Austin.

About that sleek, all-black ensemble?

“It was a good look for us today,” said Sumlin, who added recruits probably enjoyed the scenery change as well. “It gave us a little energy, and I know that didn’t hurt at all.”

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twitter: @brentzwerneman

FINAL: TEXAS A&M 38, MISSISSIPPI STATE 13

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Texas A&M center Patrick Lewis said the Aggies’ all-black uniforms, which coach Kevin Sumlin surprised them with in the locker room before the Mississippi State game, “Created an energy I hadn’t seen from this team in a while.”

Energized from the uniforms and everything else that’s resulted from A&M’s magical season, the No. 16 Aggies charged out and hounded the No. 15 Bulldogs 38-13 before 55,240 fans in Davis Wade Stadium.

“The players understand there’s no substitute for effort, and we talk to them about effort being the price of admission,” Sumlin said afterward. “That’s being reinforced by some of our better players.”

The Aggies jumped to a 24-0 lead before the MSU band took the field at halftime, and then held tight the rest of the way. Sumlin said his team can be even better.

“We were a little sloppy in the second half,” he said.

No A&M fans are complaining. The Aggies improved to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Southeastern Conference, and won their third straight road game in their new league. Their last two victories over Auburn and Mississippi State have been by a total of 67 points.

A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel continued making his case as a Heisman Trophy contender, after completing 30 of 36 passes for 311 yards, along with a game-high 129 yards rushing. A&M racked up 693 yards on 97 plays, their school record eighth straight game with at least 400 yards.

MSU (7-2, 3-2) finished with less than half as many yards as A&M (310 on 57 plays). The Aggies defense also notched its first turnover since Oct. 6 at Ole Miss when defensive back De’Vante Harris collected an errant Tyler Russell pass in the third quarter.

Sumlin’s teams have now won 11 consecutive road games, including six last year at Houston. The Aggies face top-ranked Alabama at a time to be determined in one week, in their first trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Mississippi State scored with 4:20 left in the game after taking over following a missed 43-yard field goal by Taylor Bertolet. Tyler Russell took the ball in from the 4 for a touchdown but came up short on the 2-point conversion pass attempt. The drive started at the Bulldogs’ 25 and took nine plays and 4:28 minutes.

THIRD QUARTER update
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State finally cracked the scoreboard against Texas A&M, but the Aggies appear to have the Top 20 game well in hand with a 31-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The Aggies, who led 24-0 at halftime, scored first in the third quarter on a 1-yard run by Christine Michael, to go with his 22-yard touchdown sprint in the first quarter. MSU answered later in the quarter on a 14-yard touchdown catch by Chad Bumphis from Tyler Russell, giving Bulldogs fans one of their few times to cheer this morning and afternoon.

A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel continues making his case as a Heisman Trophy contender, in completing 26 of 32 passes for 271 yards, along with a game-high 124 yards rushing.

The Aggies defense notched its first turnover since Oct. 6 at Ole Miss when defensive back De’Vante Harris collected an errant Russell pass in the third quarter.

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SECOND QUARTER update
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Plenty of folks anticipated Texas A&M’s offense putting up big numbers under Kevin Sumlin and Kliff Kingsbury. Not as many expected this kind of showing from an allegedly undermanned defense.

The Aggies defense is pitching a shutout through two quarters, as No. 16 A&M leads No. 15 Mississippi State 24-0 at the break here in Davis Wade Stadium.

The Aggies added to their 14-0 lead after a quarter with a 37-yard touchdown run by quarterback Johnny Manziel three minutes into the second quarter, and Taylor Bertolet later added a line-drive 24-yard field goal.

Mississippi State fans finally had something to cheer when the Bulldogs blocked a Bertolet field-goal attempt as the first half expired. The Aggies have 386 yards of offense compared to 87 for MSU. Manziel, a Heisman Trophy candidate, is 18 of 22 for 164 yards, and also has a game-high 82 rushing yards.

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FIRST QUARTER Update
STARKVILLE, Miss. – No. 16 Texas A&M, wearing all-black uniforms for the first time in history, leaped to a 14-0 lead on No. 15 Mississippi State early in the second quarter at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs are wearing all white in honor of their Snow Bowl victory over A&M in the 2000 Independence Bowl.

The Aggies, on their only two drives, scored on touchdown runs of 1 and 22 yards by Ben Malena and Christine Michael, respectively, in outgaining the Bulldogs 155 to 44 in total yards. Michael’s blast up the middle came on a third-and-11.

MSU punted on its first three possessions. A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel, a Heisman Trophy candidate, completed all six of his passes for 44 yards in the opening quarter, and also rushed for a game-high 40 yards. A&M has scored touchdowns on its opening drive in each of its last six games.